Avoidance As A Leadership Strategy

Today I was reading a passage on kingship and its failings. It came to me that I had missed an essential part of the theory of leadership, and that is the message that avoidance of wrath is an integral part of the whole circus.

In the passage above, Saul attempts to avoid the wrath of God and the people, while David attempts to avoid Saul's wrath. It is all a terribly intricate pas de deux, performed by two men, the old grizzled powerful warrior and the young slightly naïve one who is trying to serve him faithfully. That naïveté is what plagues David for years thereafter, even when he himself has become the grizzled power in the land, but has to deal with the scheming puissance of Joab.

But David learns that evil lesson well. Joab does not survive David's vengeance as executed by Solomon, even though he tries hiding behind the altar of God. The whole thing is a mess. Perhaps it is best in the end to forgive, forget, avoid, and keep a sharp knife nearby for self-defence; I think it's a strategy most valuable.